1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to bakery baskets and, more particularly, to bakery baskets which can be nested together as well as stacked at different heights.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of large bakery baskets for transporting bakery products to retail stores is well known. These baskets are typically rectangular in configuration and include a perforated bottom, opposed side walls, a back wall and often a shorter front wall. The baskets are either immediately emptied of their contents or are used as display stands during the sale of the products. In any event, the empty baskets are eventually returned to the manufacturer. In order to save space during the return trip, it is desirable for the baskets to be nested as closely as possible. In addition, the baskets should securely stack on top of one another when they are transporting the baked products. Moreover, it is desirable to provide different stack heights for the baskets since the bakery products transported therein often come in different thicknesses or heights.
A variety of bakery baskets which can be stacked at different heights, as well as nested when empty, are known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,392,875, 4,109,791, 4,334,616, 4,391,369, 4,423,813, 4,466,541, 4,573,577, 4,643,310 and 4,770,300. While the bakery baskets shown in these patents do provide for nesting and stacking at different heights, they suffer from one or more defects which detract from their usefulness. For example, many of the arrangements include hinged or sliding bails which are exposed to other baskets and can become easily broken during use. In addition, many of the arrangements are difficult and cumbersome to use. Furthermore, many of the arrangements require that the baskets be rotated by 90.degree. or 180.degree. with respect to each other to obtain one of the stacking heights or the nesting position.
A bakery basket which overcomes many of the disadvantages of the prior art is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,302 to Ehrman et al. In the basket disclosed in the Ehrman patent, each end wall 16 includes a pair of stepped towers 20 which project inwardly and form three slots C1-C3 with corresponding stop surfaces N1-N3. A pair of stacking lugs 30 are supported on the upper portion of each end wall and project inwardly therefrom. The lugs are connected by thinner bosses to slidable runners 42 which are, in turn, connected to each other by a rack 43 and pinion 50 mechanism. In this manner, movement of one of the lugs will cause the other lug to move correspondingly. The lugs have a flat upper surface and are moved to various locations along the basket end walls to contact different stop surfaces on the stepped towers of an adjacent basket.
While the bakery basket disclosed in the Ehrman patent does provide for nesting and stacking at various levels, the particular structure employed has many disadvantages. In particular, the stacking lugs extend inwardly from the end walls and are totally exposed, subjecting them to easy breakage. The stacking lugs, which support the weight of an upper basket, are not carried by any solid support surface but are only carried by thinner bosses connected to the runners. In addition, the construction, using the rack and pinion mechanism, is quite complicated and is subject to breakage.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bakery basket which can be nested as well as stacked in multiple height levels. Furthermore, it is an object to provide such a bakery basket which utilizes a sliding bail, but which is not subject to easy breakage and can securely support the load of an adjacent basket and transfer the load to the entire side wall structure of the basket. In addition, it is an object to provide such a bakery basket in an arrangement which is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to operate.